


Our Animal Impulses

by FiliTheLionKing (IAmYourWatson), Krit



Series: Wicked And Divine [1]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Because We're Us, Blood Drinking, Blood Kink, Drinking, Eventual Romance, Flirting, M/M, Mentions of Death, More Teeth Than The Osmond Family, Smut, Sort Of, Supernatural Creatures, Tags Contain Spoilers, The Night Before "The Battle", They're Not Human, you'll understand why later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:00:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23906575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmYourWatson/pseuds/FiliTheLionKing, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krit/pseuds/Krit
Summary: Sam Chisholm has gathered together six extraordinary men to help him drive out the evil plaguing the town of Rose Creek. With Emma Cullen by his side, he chose them for their talents, their skills, and their hard-earned reputations. Warriors. Hunters. Killers. Just the kind of men you'd need to fight fire with fire.Still, some of these 'men' are not quite what the good folks of Rose Creek would think of when asked what heroes should look like. Oh, if only they knew what lies beneath the surface...It's the night before the battle, and tensions are high. What better way to relieve some stress and scratch the itch that's been building that with a friendly drink? And if it leads to more, well...who's Vasquez to say no?
Relationships: Joshua Faraday/Vasquez
Series: Wicked And Divine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723201
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	Our Animal Impulses

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well in this strange time we find ourselves in. In order to alleviate some of the stress we're all under, allow us to present you with a tall tale from one of the many worlds the Battle of Rose Creek could have taken place in.
> 
> That is to say that we made an AU and now you all have to suffer with us. 
> 
> xoxo Midnight and Krit

The man currently known as Alejandro Vasquez had seen over a millennia pass by.

Empires rose and fell, invaders killed nearly all the people of his land, and now progress and manifest destiny drove this new America further and further west. He was old, _very_ old, and all he had left to fill his days was the next adventure. Death could not touch him...well, not in any way that mortals remembered, at least, so he spent his time seeking out new thrills and new knowledge. A "mix up" happened in Texas, where he was (wrongly) identified as a murderer and bank robber. (Actually, he had _let_ them think the robber was him, just to toy with these "legendary" Texas Rangers.) It had been starting to get old, though.

Now he stood on the outskirts of a meaningless town filled with men and women due to die well before their time. It was the day before the conflict, and he had sought out the one person he felt truly comfortable around: an Irishman named Joshua Faraday. He found his...friend?...at the saloon, as usual, so he bought a bottle of whiskey, grabbed two cups, and sat down beside the cardsharp.

"So, _guero_...you're a gambling man. What do you say our odds are?"

Joshua flipped the card in his hand onto the table. Playing cards were harder to read than his other decks. The original deck his mother had given him when he was a child, nine hundred years ago? More? It was certainly more... The cards in that deck depicted different plants. Then he’d acquired the deck with women on the cards, each one holding a different object. _Then_ the deck with all sorts of different people. There was a deck with animals on the cards, that one told him all sorts of interesting things. But these cards...they were ambiguous. Complicated, like the man seated next to him. There was something about him that Faraday couldn’t place. Couldn’t read. Even his cards wouldn’t give him a straight answer, but Faraday was a sucker for a challenge and a riddle.

“Oh, the odds aren’t the problem. It’s the other people at the table.” He flipped another card, frowning. “‘Fraid its all just a bit too... unpredictable.”

"Isn't that the point of living, _amigo_? Never knowing what comes next?" Vasquez raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his whiskey. "My mother used to say that never knowing if the day will be good or bad was the joy of life. Then again, she's dead now." Damn the _conquistadores_.

Faraday chuckled humorlessly and grabbed the other glass, his attention still on his cards. “Unpredictability is all well and good. Gotta stay on your toes, be ready for anything. But I don’t like to go into things this blind.” He filled half the glass and drank it down.

“It’s gonna be fucking fun, though.” He smirked. “My ma? She always told me to keep my eyes open.”

"When I was little, my mother used to tell me that I came from a line of kings. A line so ancient that no one remembers its name now. I always wondered what it was." Of course, he _actually_ knew, but this was the story he gave to mortals. "She said that I was born to be a king, and I should always remember that it was my birthright to crush those who would try to stop me." He refilled his glass.

"Maybe she was crazy."

Faraday smiled. “My family was always a little more... _subtle_. My mother...she lets people destroy themselves.” He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, gathered his cards and put them away. “They always do in the end.” He forwent the glass and took a swig from the bottle. “People. People like Bogue. They always end up being their own downfall.”

Vasquez watched Faraday put the cards away. The man always had them on hand, like they were a toy, or a comfort. Something familiar. Maybe he'd buy the guero a set of _Lotería_ cards when this was all over....if Joshua lived.

" _Sí_. They do. Such is the way of the world. The only question is: how many of us will he take with him?" He murmured, taking the bottle and drinking from it. For a moment, his lips tingled, as if a strange form of magic had touched the glass. Odd. Some humans had watered-down blood of ancient beings like himself. Maybe Joshua was one of the?. "...I don't want one of them to be you, _guero_."

Faraday laughed, a lilting sort of giggle that almost betrayed his nature. Almost. “Oh, trust me. I have a knack for survival.” He looked at Vasquez consideringly.

“For what it’s worth... I hope you don’t die either.” Though he had a sense... a sense of something. Death clung to Vasquez like smoke. The cards agreed. He was either bound for it, or safe from it. Stupid fucking cards. Ridiculously unhelpful. Everything they said seemed to be about this man, and still they told him nothing. But death was a running theme, and Faraday truly did hope that wasn’t a bad omen.

Quickly, but without drawing attention to himself, Vasquez checked to see who, if anyone, was in the room. The bartender was busy in the back, and it was early enough that there were no customers yet. Assured of their relative privacy, Vasquez leaned in to whisper in Faraday's ear.

"A mind like yours is a terrible thing to waste...and a body like yours should never suffer damage." He purred, his voice rough and dark and enticing. He wouldn't use his powers on Joshua, but Vasquez could be charming even without his magic.

Faraday quirked a wily grin and turned his head, brushing his cheek against Vasquez’s. “And do you find yourself giving much consideration to the state of my body _Señor_ Vasquez?” He whispered.

"Perhaps I do, Mr. Faraday." Vasquez grinned a coyote's grin, although this one was more playful than anything else. "Would that bother you?" He breathed in deeply, taking in Faraday's scent, his nose barely hovering above the skin beneath Faraday's ear.

Faraday pretended to think for a moment, tilting his head from one side to the other, humming slightly. “Well, I suppose there are less attractive men who could spend their time thinking of me.” He pressed his lips to Vasquez’s ear. “And just what exactly do you think about?” He murmured.

"What it would take to make that pale skin of yours flush with pleasure..." Vasquez half-whispered, half-growled. "What it would be like to see you beneath me....above me...those pretty pink lips around my cock..."

Faraday shuddered. After the week he’d had, that sounded just delightful. He tugged Vasquez’s earlobe between his teeth before pulling back to look him in the eye, smirking. “And were you planing on acting on any of these thoughts?”

"I was thinking about it." Vasquez teased right back, baring his (human) teeth in a dark, lecherous grin. "If you were willing." He gave Faraday an out, just in case the man only wanted flirting. Vasquez had no qualms about killing, but sex? He only took those who wanted it of their own free will.

“Willing, ready, and able.” He grabbed the bottle and took another swig. “Do you need a handwritten invitation?” He appreciated the care Vasquez took to ensure his consent, humans often lacked such basic etiquette, but he was on edge and could use some much needed stress relief right about yesterday. And Vasquez was...well. Faraday had definitely had a few thoughts of his own the past week.

"No, but if you want to take the time to make one, I won't stop you." Vasquez laughed, standing up and taking the bottle with him. He began sauntering towards their quarters, knowing that Faraday would follow him. The immortal stepped into his own room, taking a drink of the whiskey before setting it down on the meager desk. While he waited for his _guero,_ to come inside, he went to his saddlebag, first finding a small tin of slick, then a worn, but still readable, card.

Faraday laughed, and after looking around exaggeratedly, hurried after him. He slipped into the room and locked the door. “Well, my oh my. Trapped in a room with a dangerous outlaw. I do believe my virtue is in peril.” His grin was wide, showing off too many teeth and he tossed his hat across the room.

"You sound just like the Cajun, _guero_." With a quiet laugh, Vasquez turned around, tossing the tin of slick on the bed. He put his hat down on the desk, walking slowly towards Faraday, his steps quiet like a jaguar's. When he stood before Faraday, he offered the other man the _Lotería_ card: it was La _Calavera_ , The Skull.

"I've had this for many years now, to remind myself of the true nature of the world...and of humanity. _'Al pasar por el panteon, me encontre una calavera.'_ While passing the graveyard I found a skull. That is the riddle they give when they announce the card. It means the situation may not be unexpected, but something about it will surprise you nonetheless. It reminds me of you: seemingly so normal, but full of surprises. Keep it."

“That’s kinda what I was going for.” Faraday chuckled at Vasquez’s comparison.

When the other man handed him the card, he felt his stomach twist. He looked down at it and the room tilted. The earth was screaming at him, trying to make him understand, but he couldn’t see the answer. Like a name on the tip of his tongue. Seeing a face and recognizing it, but not knowing who it is. He could hear his mother’s long-suffering voice in his head, telling him to pay attention.

“Thank you.” He murmured, pressing the card to his chest. He glanced at Vasquez with an amused and curious look on his face. “You’ve got a surprise or two up your sleeve yourself.” He placed the card on the desk, and his gun belt on the chair. “Wanna surprise me?” He smirked and winked.

"All right. I'll give you another surprise: when I fuck someone, I don't tell them my name." He grabbed Joshua by the lapels, pressing their chests together. "But when I take a lover, when they scream, I want it to be my name, and my name alone." Vasquez grinned before kissing Joshua deeply, passionately, with a hint of savagery. "So when I make you scream, it's not Vasquez...it's Alejandro. _¿Comprende?_ "

Faraday gasped into the kiss, biting at Vasquez’s lips. At the taste of blood and alcohol. He could taste Mexico itself in Vasquez’s mouth. In his skin. The earth calling out to him. The memory of sands a thousand miles away, imprinted on this man. Life and death and something almost familiar. Faraday had no time to contemplate that before Vasquez’s words registered with him. Oh. _Oooohhhh_. Well, then.

“Joshua.” He gasped out. Maybe, if they both lived, there was a possibility for a day to come where he might tell Vasquez his true name. But for now, he could have this.

Vasquez barely managed to hide his pointed teeth behind a close-lipped smile. He took a second to regain control of himself, then he leaned forward and trailed soft kisses down Joshua's jaw, just to counterpoint the intensity of earlier. "Don't your people say that names have power?" He teased, pulling at Joshua's clothes as he backed them both towards the bed.

Faraday barked out a sharp laugh. “Yes. My people do indeed say that. We say a lot of things.” He helped Vasquez strip them both and ran his hands over every inch of skin that he uncovered. “Everything has power. Names. Nature. Words.” He shoved Vasquez’s pants down and wrapped his hand around his cock. “Sex.”

A loud, sinful moan left Alejandro's lips, his eyelids falling shut for a moment as he savored the sensation of being touched so intimately. He hadn't indulged in sex for quite some time, maybe even a few years. It felt amazing after all this time untouched. "For my people, it isn't words or names that carry power...it's blood and gold, coca leaves and ancient rituals long forgotten..." He pulled Faraday onto the bed with him, landing on his back with Faraday astride his hips.

"But since I'm rather fond of you alive, blood is out of the question, and I have no coca leaves. So tell me, _guero_ , what can you read from sex?" His feral smile widened as he rolled his hips again, their cocks rubbing together.

Faraday groaned and ground down against him. He let the pleasure wash over him. Sexual intimacy carried its own magic, tying things together. Connecting everything. He looked down into Vasquez’s eyes and saw raw power. “A mystery.” He chuckled. “I’ll tell you when I figure it out.” He licked his lips and grabbed the tin of slick next to them, pressing it into Vasquez’s hand. “Why don’t you make it clearer for me?”

"As you wish, _guerito_." Vas quickly slicked up three of his fingers, setting the tin aside as he sat up, holding his weight up on his left arm as his right hand slid down Joshua's back, his fingers slowly circling the redhead's hole. He slipped first one, then two fingers in, searching for that spot that all men, mortal or not, had deep inside of them. He wanted to hear Joshua _scream_.

Joshua whimpered and squirmed on top of him. His fingers dug into Vasquez’s chest. He twisted his hips and- there! “Fuck!” He moaned out, loudly. He leaned down and kissed him again, chasing that intoxicating taste and feeling Vasquez’s energy twine with his own. Something ancient and familiar. Addictive and elusive. Right on the tip of his tongue.

Alejandro prided himself on his control, honed over many centuries of practice, but there was something about Joshua that made him feel his reign over himself slipping away. The redhead tasted of alcohol and cigarettes, but deep beneath that was the taste of mint and something sweet and cream-like. That tingling was back in his lips, and if Vasquez had stopped to think about it, he would conclude that Faraday _definitely_ had some ancient blood in him. As it was, he didn't even notice his fangs slip down, for just a second, making him nick his own tongue. He didn't even feel the pain as the fangs quickly receded again. A small droplet of his blood mixed into their kiss, but he was too high on Joshua's taste to notice, adding another finger and continuing to stretch his lover.

Faraday moaned and pulled back, staring at Vasquez for a moment, with his head cocked to the side. He licked his lips and squinted his eyes. “Now.” He rasped out. “Fuck me now.” He was desperate. Desperate to finally have this man he was so fond of inside of him, and desperate to understand what he was seeing but failing to understand. He needed all of him.

With a grace most wouldn't expect of a man like him, Vasquez removed his fingers and rolled them over, pinning Joshua beneath him. He used the remaining slick on his cock before lifting Joshua's right leg and letting it rest on his left shoulder. "So beautiful, _querido_..." He murmured, the endearment spoken with a warm, yet hungry smile. Vasquez lined himself up, leaning down to kiss Joshua deeply as he slid home, nearly bending the redhead in half.

Faraday cried out into his mouth, clinging to him. He felt the raw power in their connection. The energy between them shifting and washing over them. Their own energy intertwining, twisting and merging. Vasquez was power and death and blood and earth and- and mother fucking son of a-

Faraday gasped and grabbed Vasquez’s jaw, shoving his face away for a moment. He felt his glamour drop, his teeth sharpening and his eyes glowing bright green. His nails sharpened against Vasquez’s skin.

“ _Vampire!_ ” He proclaimed, triumphantly. He couldn’t judge himself too harshly for not being able to see it. Vasquez was almost nothing like the vampires he had met before.

* * *

One second, Vasquez had been kissing Faraday, their hips starting to move together, and then the next, his skin was nearly being pierced by sharp nails as lantern-bright eyes stared angrily up at him. What the fuck!? He reared back, letting Faraday's leg fall from his shoulder, although he was still deep inside of the (human?) man beneath him. His own eyes went black as night, his fangs dropping down as his own claws made an appearance. The air was charged with a magic he had never felt before. It worried him, just a little.

"A vampire?" He snarled, growling as the name left a foul taste in his mouth. "I am no such lowly creature. There is no real word for it in English, but when the Spanish came, they called us _'Los Sanguinarios'_...The Bloodthirsters." He pulled Faraday's hand from his face, the cuts healing themselves quickly and painlessly. "The question is, _guero_ : what are _you_?"

Faraday grinned, showing off too many sharp teeth. “Pick a name, we have several.” He reached up and scraped his nails lightly down Vasquez’s chest, not breaking the skin. He let his magic out in sparks against him. “Fairy, pixie, imp, troll, elf... I’m partial to the word ‘fae’ myself. And those are just some of the English ones.” He hummed and stretched, rolling his hips, and sighing happily. Now that he figured it out, he could embrace Vasquez’s energy. Feel it for what it was. And it was intoxicating.

“The Spaniards call us _la hada_. Don’t know if the Mexicans have a word for us. Probably.” He licked his lips, grinning wickedly. “Some call us ‘the fair folk’. Maybe part of you knew all along.” He giggled, not bothering to mask his voice, letting his magic seep into it.

" _¿La hada?_ " Vasquez tilted his head, vague memories of stories told by _conquistadores_ and immigrants flashing through his mind. The 'Fair Folk' of Ireland were somewhat similar to the _Chaneque_ , the spirits of his homeland, deceptively dangerous and objects of fearful respect. He leaned down, his endlessly black eyes not even reflecting Joshua's supernatural glow. It was as if all light died in those eyes, leaving only a deadly void.

"When we shared the bottle, I sensed something, but it was so faint that I thought you were a descendant of an ancient being, not one yourself. You hide yourself well, _'Joshua'_." His voice was playfully mocking as he said the name. "Why were you so angry? Are those weaklings that call themselves vampires truly so loathsome? There are precious few here, and they all know to keep their heads down. This is _our_ land."

Joshua blushed a little. “I wasn’t angry with you. I was angry that it took me so long to figure it out. It was obvious.” He rubbed his thumb under Vasquez’s eye. “I’ve only known a few bloodsuckers back home. They’re not terrible. A little annoying. Maudlin. You though...” He pulled him back down and kissed him again. “You’re different. I can taste it.” He bit at Vasquez’s lip, licking the few drops of blood that spilled before the wound closed. “Can you taste me?”

"Oh? So I'm a puzzle to solve, eh?" Vasquez laughed, not at all offended. It was simply who Joshua was, and he'd known it from the start. His laughter was silenced by the kiss, a soft moan pulled out of him by the gesture. Joshua's teeth were _all_ sharp, unlike his own, where only his fangs were razor-edged. His tongue absently ran over the already-closed wound, a small smile stretching his lips.

"Mint. Cream. Freshwater rivers and cinnamon bark. You try to hide it behind cigarettes and whiskey, but I can taste it all the same." He rested his weight on his forearms, letting his hips lazily roll against Joshua's, teasing them both with pleasure. "So, _guero_...where does this leave us, hm?" Some supernaturals were mortal enemies, and he wasn't sure who the fae considered to be untrustworthy.

Faraday hummed happily. “I like you. I trust you. I want you.” He kissed him again. “Is that good enough for you?”

"Yes..." Vasquez purred, snapping his hips forward as he began a steady, driving pace. His lips trailed down Joshua's jawline to his neck. "Tell me, _guero_...can I taste your blood?"

Joshua moaned and tilted his head, baring his neck. He had heard that the experience was delightful. Though, if Vasquez was technically a different species...well, he’d just have to find out.

“Yes.” He hissed.

With a delighted, savage grin, Vasquez let his fangs pierce Joshua's skin, careful to make the experience pleasurable, holding back the painful, heart rate-increasing venom that his people only used on their true victims. Joshua's blood was rich and bright, thick without being like molasses, with an almost champagne-like touch at the end. "Nnnnngh....!" He growled in pleasure, his cock finally hitting Joshua's sweet spot.

Faraday cried out in pleasure, tugging at Vasquez’s hair, and clenching around his cock. “Alejandro!” He panted for breath and rocked his hips up. He could feel the sheer force and power of death radiating off of his new lover. It wasn’t the stagnant decay of the vampires back home. It wasn’t the result of death. It was death itself...and it was beautiful.

It took a herculean effort for Vasquez to pull away from Joshua's throat, but he had two _very_ good reasons to stop: the first was that he had no idea how much blood Joshua could afford to lose before becoming too weak to move, and secondly, because he had a sort of promise to keep. He licked the wound shut, moaning as he felt Joshua's strange, delightful magic sing in his blood, the fae's raw power making him feel like a teenaged fledgling all over again. Licking his lips, he leaned down and whispered in Joshua's ear, his pace slowing to deep, hard thrusts.

"You say names have power with your people, _sí_?" Vasquez purred. "Like I said, I _never_ take a lover without telling them my name, so they can scream it when they come....but Alejandro isn't really my name..."

Joshua whimpered and shook his head. He clamped his hand over Vasquez’s mouth. “No. Don’t. Really.” He took a deep shuddering breath. “Don’t trust me with that. Don’t trust _anyone_ with that. You’ve known me a week, and I am one of the most powerful creatures you’ve ever met.” He removed his hand and kissed him gently. “Don’t give me that kind of power over you.”

"...Then give me a name. A name that's not my own, but one that only _you_ can call me by...." Vasquez murmured, almost sadly. He kissed Joshua's cheeks before returning to his lips, their tongues moving together in an almost gentle dance. Vasquez continued his slow, hard pace, pleasure welling inside of him.

“ _Leannán_.” He murmured back, against his lips. He carded his fingers through Vasquez’s hair. “ _Mo Leannán_.” He let his magic reach out and brush against Vasquez’s power. Feeling him, inside and out, every part of them, touching and intertwined.

By the ancient gods, Joshua was the single most intoxicating being he had ever met. He felt Joshua's magic flow into him, into his very soul, into the places where the shadows of death and the night and their enticing freedoms lingered. " _Leannán_. And you, _querido_...will be my _Cariño_..." He purred, his peak hurtling towards him. "Come with me, _Cariño_...!"

“Yes! _Leannán_!” He cried out, clinging to him, clenching around him, letting his energy and the pure pleasure of the moment wash over him, run through him. He came hard, seeing stars, and letting his magic spark along Vasquez’s skin.

Alejandro roared out his pleasure, his fangs sinking into the meat of Joshua's shoulder as his seed spilled inside of his lover. Joshua's magic made him feel warm, truly, authentically warm, for the first time in decades. He pulled his teeth from Joshua's skin, licking at the blood that welled to the surface before he healed the wounds. "Cariño...mi cariño..." He murmured, collapsing into Joshua's arms. Several quiet moments passed before he spoke again.

"What does Leannán mean, _Cariño_?"

Faraday giggled and kissed Vasquez’s temple. “Lover.” He responded, affectionately. “And _Cariño_?”

"The same, but it most commonly means 'honey'." Vasquez nuzzled into Faraday's neck. "Your blood...is like honey, sweet and thick and addicting..."

“Oh, man, how is yours even sappier than mine?!” Faraday wrapped his arms around him tightly.

Vasquez laughed. "I named you after how you taste! At least you didn't bring whatever it is that the fae eat into it." He grinned self-deprecatingly. "Still...I feel as if I've known you for centuries, not just a week. Strange, isn't it?"

Faraday hummed and shrugged. “I think we recognized each other. I don’t know how or why. But everything kept pushing me towards you, pointing you out. Trying to show you to me.”

"...Your cards?" Alejandro ventured, kissing the fair skin that he'd fed from only moments ago.

Joshua arched into the touch. “The cards. The earth. The air. Your eyes. I just wasn’t paying attention to the big picture.” He took Vasquez’s face in his hand and pushed his head up to look him in the eye. “We’re connected. I don’t understand the big picture yet. But you and me...this was meant to happen.”

Alejandro's eyes finally faded from pitch black to their usual brown as he gazed at his lover. A small memory, one he hadn't thought of in a very long time, resurfaced in his mind.

"...My mother used to say...that when my people are born, a perfect mate is born as well. Someone to keep us company in our immortality. Some take centuries to find theirs." He murmured, his hand coming up to stroke Joshua's cheek. "I searched for a while, but no one ever made my blood sing. Centuries passed. Empires rose and fell. Then...the _conquistadores_ came, and so many of my people died. It wasn't their guns or their cannons that killed us: it was their diseases. Smallpox. Remnants of the plague. Syphilis. At the time, if we drank the blood of someone infected, we would die. We nearly starved to death."

Joshua slid his hand back into Vasquez’s curls. “I’m sorry. That must have been awful.” He glanced away for a second. “My people...we’re different. We don’t have...we don’t have anything like that. Mates. We barely have love. I think I was in love once. A couple hundred years ago.” He looked back at him, smiling softly. “I’ll admit, this is different. New. And I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to find out.”

"You were in love?" Alejandro asked quietly, finally slipping out of Joshua. He lay on his side, pulling the other man into his arms. "I've never been in love...at least, I don't think I have. I've taken lovers, but...I always knew that it would end, either with death or with boredom. After a while, I just...stopped searching."

Joshua shrugged. “It wasn’t like... it wasn’t how humans think of love. He loved me like that. I... I was very fond of him. I wanted to help him, and keep him safe and happy. He had a wife in the country, and I wanted the best for her too.” He smiled at the memory. “He was a writer, and I was his muse. I inspired him, and I _wanted_ to inspire him. And when he died...” Joshua sighed and snuggled closer to Alejandro. “I’ve never mourned like that before.” He pressed a kiss to Alejandro’s skin.

“But you. This. Everything is different. Stronger. More...powerful. And if I lose you...I don’t know what will happen.”

Despite his appearance as a rough and uneducated pariah, Alejandro was actually fairly well-read. He might not care all that much about Europe and its invaders, but he sometimes found himself in a city with a good library, and he often gravitated to the fiction section. He had a few ideas about who Joshua was talking about, but he wasn't sure.

"I have only ever mourned the loss of my mother, and our relationship was...strained, near the end. I never knew my father, and I never had any siblings. I cannot imagine what it is to lose someone you love. I hope I never do." Alé kissed Joshua's brow. "If you get hurt tomorrow, come to the church. I'll protect you. Their guns cannot kill me."

Faraday smirked. “I’m not so easy to kill, myself.” Granted, he had always managed to get himself out of danger before any real damage could occur. There had been a few close calls, but he’d never been foolish enough to throw himself head first into a battle before. Truth be told, he had no idea what it would take to kill him. What he could survive.

"I can see that." Vasquez laughed, nibbling on Joshua's lower lip. "Still, I have tested myself against the white man's weapons. They cannot kill me. My people require much more effort to die."

“Well, then I guess we will have a chance to continue this conversation once the battle is won.” Faraday grinned. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Vasquez grinned, kissing Joshua passionately. "I'll see you on the other side."

Then his eyes went black again.

"Now...we still have all night...and I find myself... _hungry_ again..."

**Author's Note:**

> Midnight is FiliTheLionKing btw. 
> 
> Comments are most welcome, and they help feed our starving souls! 
> 
> Just to clarify: Vasquez is a far more powerful, more primordial version of a vampire. They're not created, they're born, so he's not a vampire in the usual sense. Faraday is a member of the Fae. The dangerous kind, not the nice sparkly kind.


End file.
